The annual Greening the Blue Report – The UN system’s environmental footprint and efforts to reduce it shows the progress both at the UN system-wide level and entity level of implementing the Strategy for Sustainability Management in the United Nations System 2020-2030, Phase I: Environmental Sustainability in the Area of Management (Sustainability Strategy I). The 2023 edition of the Greening the Blue Report, which provides 2022 data, was published on 21 December 2023. Commenting on the results from the report, António Guterres, UN Secretary-General noted, “The world must work together to address the triple planetary crisis of runaway climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. We at the United Nations must do our part with advocacy and action. I encourage all UN entities to set an example by greening the blue.” Sustainability Strategy I covers both environmental impact areas and management functions. Highlights of the Greening the Blue Report 2023’s UN system-wide 2022 data results include: Environmental Impact Areas Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) - the UN’s operations and facilities emitted 1.4 million tonnes of CO2eq in total or 4.6 tonnes CO2eq per capita. The UN system’s GHG emissions by source were 38% from air travel, 47% from facilities and 15% from other forms of travel Waste - the average waste generated for the whole UN system was 321 kg/person Water - the average water consumption by the UN system was 49 m3 per UN personnel per year Management Functions Environmental Governance – 7 UN entities have met or exceeded the criteria for implementing an Environmental Management System, with an additional 15 entities approaching the criteria Procurement* – 24 out of 29 organizations implemented formal sustainable procurement policies in their procurement processes Human Resources – 31 entities have environmental training available for their staff Greening the Blue Report 2023 highlights the environmental impacts of over 308,000 personnel in 57 entities across Headquarters, field offices and operations on the ground. The report also includes a case study from a UN entity on each of the environmental impact areas and management functions. To read the whole report and the detailed entity level data, please visit greeningtheblue.org. *Procurement data is taken from the 2022 Annual Statistical Report on United Nations Procurement. More information Methodologies and data collection used, please visit greeningtheblue.org/methodology. Methodology related to travel emissions provided by the International Civil Aviation Organisation please visit the ICAO website. For climate neutrality, please visit the UNFCCC website. For more information, please contact: UN Environment Programme E-mail: unepnewsdesk@unep.org
Record UK heat, now 130 times more likely due to human influence, has turned sustainable construction from virtue into core risk management. With Verisk forecasting $450bn a year in disaster losses, the test is blunt: assets that cannot withstand heat, flood and fire will be uninsurable or unfinanceable. Clients are commissioning resilience by design, low carbon design, sustainable architecture and energy-efficient buildings evidenced by whole life carbon assessment, lifecycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis. Whole life carbon and embodied carbon performance are moving to the front page of investment committees, binding environmental sustainability in construction to access to capital for net zero carbon buildings and net zero whole life carbon portfolios.
Regulation is tightening. A new fire minister responsible for building safety signals continued post‑Grenfell scrutiny of products and façades, placing sustainable building design, sustainable building practices, breeam and breeam v7 at the centre of due diligence. Biodiversity Net Gain is shifting from box‑ticking to a determinant of consent and land value, mainstreaming green infrastructure and sustainable urban development. With climate politics unsettled, investors are prioritising standards‑based assurance and demonstrable sustainability, reinforcing eco-design for buildings, sustainable design and sustainable material specification as non‑negotiable.
Materials governance is hardening. From April 2027, chemically recycled plastic will count toward the UK Plastic Packaging Tax only via certified mass‑balance chains of custody, a precedent likely to flow into construction product claims, environmental product declarations (epds) and the carbon footprint of construction. Expect deeper audits of embodied carbon in materials, low embodied carbon materials, low carbon construction materials, green building materials and green building products, with resource efficiency in construction, building lifecycle performance and carbon footprint reduction verified at product and project level to de‑risk procurement.
ScottishPower’s Hagshaw Hill decommissioning achieved 99.9% reuse and recycling, proving circular economy logistics at utility scale. The same circular economy in construction—end‑of‑life reuse in construction, circular construction strategies, deconstruction planning and life cycle thinking in construction—can lift reuse rates for buildings and infrastructure, cutting waste, life cycle cost and the environmental impact of construction while advancing decarbonising the built environment through low carbon building methods, renewable building materials, eco‑friendly construction and green construction.
Resilience, verified carbon data and circularity now define investable, low‑impact construction and carbon neutral construction.
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